Norway: ARTICLE 19 Benefits from Norwegian Foreign Minister’s Personal Donation of Book Royalties

Norway: ARTICLE 19 Benefits from Norwegian Foreign Minister’s Personal Donation of Book Royalties

The Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Støre, has donated to ARTICLE 19 royalties amounting to NOK 1,000,000 (about GBP 97,000) from a book he published in 2008.

Mr Støre announced the donation at a press conference in Oslo on 3 June 2009, coinciding with a week-long international gathering of freedom of expression organisations and activists in the city.

ARTICLE 19 Executive Director, Dr Agnès Callamard comments: “ARTICLE 19 is very touched and honoured by the Minister’s generosity, as well as his commitment to freedom of expression, in general, and ARTICLE 19’s work in particular.

“We are particularly honoured to be awarded these book royalties because of the leadership consistently demonstrated by Jonas Gahr Støre on the international stage. Mr Støre took a courageous position defending freedom of expression at the UN Durban Review Conference on racism in April this year – he defended human rights in the face of the Iranian President’s attempts to spread fear and intolerance at the event, when other country representatives had walked out. And, in the aftermath of the Danish cartoons incident in 2005, he initiated, with his Indonesian counterpart, the Global Inter-Media Dialogue to promote understanding and dialogue across cultures, religions and the media.”

ARTICLE 19 will use Mr Støre’s donation to further its global work advocating for the development and adoption of sound policies and laws supporting freedom of expression and conforming to international standards. Further, ARTICLE 19 will continue its work to promote understanding of the interdependence between the right to freedom of expression and the right to equality. The organisation will also strengthen its work against violence against journalists and impunity for crimes against the media, and continue monitoring abuses of human rights and freedom of expression in different parts of the world.

Mr Støre’s book, Ǻ Gjøre en Forskjell (Making a Difference), was published in November 2008 and outlines his views on international politics, human rights and the world. The book invites readers to a broad reflection on Norway´s position, values and interests at a time when many fundamental assumptions regarding international politics are changing.

• For more information: please contact Dr Agnès Callamard, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director at agnes@article19.org or +44 20 7324 2500.

immediate release – 15 June 2009